Proper oral hygiene involves the personal care of one's teeth. This is accomplished by brushing the teeth regularly on a daily basis, usually after every meal and after snacks. Toothbrushing is typically performed using a conventional well known toothbrush device having a head with bristles adjoining a rigid handle. The toothbrush is grasped by the handle with the user's hand as the user brushes the teeth with the bristles in the head portion of the toothbrush device.
The toothbrushing device described above have a number of disadvantages. For example, conventional toothbrushes ordinarily can not be maintained in the sanitary condition because ordinary washing does not destroy the common bacteria that attaches to the bristles during brushing. Moreover, the not-so-portable design of such toothbrushing devices makes it difficult to adhere to a proper routine of oral hygiene, especially when the user happens to be situated where no bathroom facilities are available for toothbrushing. Since conventional toothbrushes were designed to be used and stored in a bathroom facility, they do not lend themselves to being carried in a pocket or purse. In particular, toothbrushes are awkward to carry and store because they are to long for concealment in clothing pockets and are easily contaminated by the environment. Further, since toothbrushes are relatively expensive to purchase on a daily basis, it is impractical to discard them after only a single use.
Conventional toothbrushes have other problems which are inherent in their design. Since the bristle portion of the toothbrush sits at one end of a 7 or 8 inch handle, brushing requires a certain amount of dexterity. Younger children typically lack such dexterity as do people who have suffered a stroke or other disabling illness or disease.
In such situations, it would be more convenient to have the brush mounted on the finger. This is especially true for instance, if the person is attempting to brush the teeth of a child or the teeth of an animal, such as a dog. Further, fingermounted toothbrushing devices offer the user a better feel of the toothbrush and thus, a better idea of the quality of the brushing job being performed. Generally speaking, much greater control and flexibility can be achieved when the brush is manipulated by a finger.
Many attempts have been made in the prior art, to design a brush structure which is to be fixed or held upon the finger of the user. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,975 entitled TOOTHBRUSHES and issued to Nelson on Mar. 20, 1973, a toothbrush adapted for finger manipulation is described. This finger toothbrush device includes a finger manipulated member with an array of bristles arranged in a formation along an axis extending forwardly from the member. According to this patent, the toothbrush described therein has been adapted to be especially useful in cleaning the cervical areas of the teeth.
A finger-held toothbrush including an inner portion which is wholly received within an outer portion when the toothbrush is in the stored condition is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,562 entitled DISPOSABLE FINGER MOUNTED TOOTHBRUSH WITH HOLDING MEANS issued to Dunn on Apr. 28, 1992. The outer portion of this device includes an upper flap and lower flap that are releasable secured to one another about their respective peripheral borders. When the top flap is peeled back, the bottom flap separates from the top flap and the inner portion of the toothbrush mounting the bristles of the brush become exposed.
A disposable toothbrush made out of a biodegradable material, such as biodegradable plastic, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,428 entitled BIODEGRADABLE TOOTHBRUSH issued to Salmon on May 25, 1993. This toothbrush includes cap with a flattened portion which define two or four rows of short bristles. The bristles are impregnated with a dehydrated toothpaste which bond to the bristles to form a defined layer on top of the bristles. When these bristles contact water, the impregnated toothpaste aids in the brushing of the teeth. Upon completion, the entire toothbrush is disposed of.
A tooth and gum brush that includes a flexible sheet or pad that can carry a cleaner, a mild abrasive, medicants or other substances is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,433 entitled FINGER MOUNTED DENTAL APPLIANCE issued to Rosen on Jul. 20, 1993. This toothbrush device includes a miniature hook and loop fastener arrangement for fastening the appliance about a user's finger. The pad can be formed of a cotton loop woven cloth and the tab can be a separate strap or integral portion of the pad.
A finger toothbrushing device for use on human beings and animals is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,584 entitled TOOTHBRUSH issued to Skinner on Feb. 22, 1994. This patent discloses a device comprising a base portion with the plurality of bristles secured in and protruding from a base portion. Friction enhancing ribs are formed on the interior surfaces of the device.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,531 entitled ABSORBENT FINGER SLEEVE FOR USE IN DENTISTRY OR MEDICINE issued to Belizo Madanba on Jun. 14, 1994 there is shown an absorbent sleeve which is formed over a portion of a finger. This device is not designed to brush teeth but instead to absorb fluids and remove debris from areas that are constrained in a body such as canals and cavities or used to apply fluid substances.
Finally, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,153 entitled DISPOSABLE INDIVIDUAL GELLED INSTANT TOOTHBRUSH issued to Cole on Sep. 20, 1994, there is disclosed a disposable teeth cleaning kit which includes a finger mounted toothbrush having a substantially cylindrical elastic sheath with a closed end and an open end. The brush portion is disposed on this sheath adjacent its closed end.
One feature that is common to essentially all these prior art finger-mounted toothbrush devices is that they are manufactured from synthetic materials which tend to have undesirable environmental disposal aspects. Such a disadvantage is quite significant in devices that are intended to be used only once and then discarded, such as these.
Thus, there exists a need for a finger-mounted toothbrush that can be discarded without negatively impacting the environment.
It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved finger-mounted toothbrush that can be discarded without any significant negative impact on the environment.